The Delhi High Court recently issued notice to the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on a plea lodged by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) challenging its suspension. Hearing the matter, Justice Subramonium Prasad gave the Central government four weeks time to respond to the plea.
The matter is scheduled for further hearing on May 28. The WFI was suspended by the Centre through a communication issued on December 24, 2023. This took place after Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, won the WFI elections and took control of the top wrestling body.
In its communication, the Sports Ministry had noted hasty decisions taken by the WFI and said that the new leadership had shown complete disregard for rules and regulations. It also asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute an ad-hoc body to control and manage the affairs of the WFI.
The ad-hoc committee constituted to manage the affairs of the WFI has also been dissolved by the IOA. Appearing for the WFI, Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan told the High Court that the Ministry’s order was in complete violation of the principles of natural justice and the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.
The counsel stated that the WFI was suspended without notice even though the Sports Code itself contemplates that a show cause notice must be issued to the body before a decision to suspend a federation like WFI is taken. The petition had been filed through Advocate Hemant Phalpher.
Meanwhile, a coordinate bench recently asked the Union Government to file an affidavit stating its clear stand regarding managing WFI’s affairs after the dissolution of the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) ad-hoc committee running the suspended body. The bench was hearing a plea filed by wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Satyawart Kadian. The court had asked IOA to file an affidavit indicating the circumstances in which it decided to dissolve the ad-hoc committee in March.